It's Raspberry time in Hopkins

The 76th annual Hopkins Raspberry Festival will feature some of the biggest events of the week-long celebration this weekend with street dances Friday and Saturday nights and a Grande Parade Sunday afternoon.

The festival that celebrates all things raspberry -- it traces its roots to the Great Depression, when it was started to help raspberry farmers and area merchants boost sales -- is also crowning its "royalty" this week, with a Royal Ball planned Thursday night.

Here are some of the events still to come before the festival wraps up Sunday:

• A kids' fishing contest from 9 a.m.-noon today at Shady Oak Lake, 5200 Shady Oak Road in Minnetonka.

• The Junior Royalty Coronation and Dance from 7-9:30 tonight at Eisenhower Community Center, 1001 Hwy. 7, Hopkins.

• The Royalty Coronation and Royal Ball, from 7 p.m. to midnight Thursday at the Hopkins Center for the Arts, 1111 Mainstreet.

• Music in the Park at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday in Downtown Park, 16 9th Av. S. in Hopkins.

• A Jaycees Street Dance from 8:30 p.m.-midnight Friday, featuring the band "Anything Else," at 9th Av. S. and Mainstreet.

• Family Day events from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at the Market Place Craft Fair on Mainstreet, between 7th and 12th Avenues.

• Softball, kickball and rugby tournaments, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at various locations.

• Community Band Performances from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday at the Downtown Park Bandshell, 16 9th Av. S. in Hopkins.

• A Soap Box Derby from noon to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Central Park, 101 16th Av. S., Hopkins.

• Another Jaycees Street Dance featuring "Uncle Chunk" from 8:30 p.m. to midnight Saturday at 9th Av. S. and Mainstreet.

• The Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast from 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Sunday at St. Joseph's Church, 1310 Mainstreet, Hopkins.

• The Grande Day Parade at 1 p.m. Sunday along Mainstreet.

For more details on these events and a full listing of other events planned during the Raspberry Festival, go to www. raspberrycapital.com.